Tally mechanism for knitting machines



y 1940- c w. STRZALKOWSKI 2,205,518

TALLY MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Dec. 22, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet l Q he /7 m BY % 0 wmwmiu INVE NTOR A5 Char185 W Strzalkowskl' ATTORNEYS y 1940- c. w. STRZALKOWSKI TALLY MECHANIS" FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Dec 22. 19s? 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 3 DEFELT n DEFEGT INVENTOR Charles W. fitrza/Aow ATTORN EY Patented July 2, 1940 UNITED STATES;

GFFECE TALLY MECHANESM F01 KNETTENG MACHINES 5 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in tally mechanisms for knitting machines.

My object is to provide a knitting machine with combined automatic and manually operable in- 5 dicators, which may be conjointly used to indicate the operating efficiency of a flat knitting machine.

More particularly, my object is to provide a knitting machine with means for automatically keeping plural course records, one of which operates continuously and is not subject to control by the operator, whereas another one is subject to control by the operator for re-setting purposes; to provide associated mechanism for automati-= cally advancing a record sheet step by step upon completion of any given operation for production of any given set of blanks; to provide a housing for said record sheet, with. a slot through which the operator may have access to the portion of the sheet representing the production of any given set of blanks, whereby the operator may apply index characters to the record sheet to indicate defects appearing in one or more of the blanks or any other difiiculty requiring a tom porary stoppage of the machine; and to so connect such mechanisms with the movable parts of the knitting machine as to provide for their cooperation in the production of a correct operating record, which may serve as a basis to verify or dispute an operators statement, and indisputably show the operating efficienoy of the ma chine for any desired period of time.

A. further object is to provide a flat knitting machine with a course counter and a cooperative product counter.

In the drawings:

Figure l is an elevation of my improved tally mechanism and the associated portions of a 'flat knitting machine.

Figures and 3 are sectional views, drawn, respectively, to lines and 3--3 of Figure 1.

Figure t is a plan view of the counting wheel cabinet, with the top portion of the cabinet re moved.

Figure 5 is a sectional view drawn generally to line 5-43 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a sectional View of the record sheet holder and its cabinet, drawn generally to line 6--6 of Figure 7.

Figure *7 is a sectional view drawn to line l--i of Figure 6.

Figure 3 is a developed view of the index chart.

Figure 9 is a detail Lew of the index chart as it appears when Wound on its supporting core.

Like parts are identified by the same reference characters throughout the several views.

The flat knitting machine to which my inventicn is applied may be assumed to be of ordinary type, adapted for the'simultaneous knitting of a series of stocking blanks.

Flat lmitting machines made in multiple sec.- tions are in common use. Machines designed to knit as high as two dozen stocking blanks in one operation are frequently employed, and Whenever a thread supplying one of the sections is broken or the knitting operation otherwise interrupted, the operator must shut down the entire machine long enough to make the necessary adjustments to prevent further feeding of thread to that section. Therefore, it is important to keep a record of the total number of courses knitted and of the interruptions of its operation during any given day and of the sections responsible for such interruptions, whereby a superintendent or other ofiiccr may receive information as to the total time loss and the total number of imperfect blanks knitted.

Flat knitting machines are ordinarily provided with control chains ill, (Figures 1 and 2), which are made up of detachable links. Each link represents one knitted course, and one of these links is provided with 9. lug or cam projection ii to automatically stop the machine when the required number of courses have been knitted to complete a given set of blanks. Pattern cam projections 52, offset on the chain from the projection it (Figure 2), may be employed to stop the machine at those stages of the knitting operation which require the addition or subtraction of operating needles to enlarge or reduce the width of the blank after a given number of courses have been knitt d. The machine stopping levers or members which these cams operate are in common use and need no description, as they are not part of the invention herein described.

For the purposes of my invention, I utilize a similar cam projection to operate a suitable counter once during each cycle of chain travel. In the construction illustrated, the chain it travels in the direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 1, and the cam projection l i is in a position to actuate a striker finger I l (Figure l), and thereby oscillate a pivoted lever or dog It to transmit motion through the link rod IE to a crank arm l'l which operates a counter mounted in a cabinet it supported from the frame of the machine. Preferably the counter will be thus operated immediately prior to contact of the pro-,-

jection H with the machine stopping striker it (Figure 1).

As shown in Figures 6 and 7, the crank arm ii? is connected with an oscillatory shaft D jour= naled in the cabinet 18 and provided with an interior crank arm 2!, which transmits motion step by step to a counting carrier such as the drum 22, through the link 23, lever 24, dog 25, and ratchet wheel 26, the latter being fixedly connected with the hub of the drum 22, whereas the lever 25 is mounted to oscillate on said hub.

A tension spring 28 connects link 23 with one wall of the cabinet, as best shown in Figure '7, and this spring tends to retract the motion trans mitting connections and the dog 25 after each step movement of the ratchet wheel An aux iliary spring 29 connects the lever l5 with the frame and tends to hold the finger it in a nor= mal position, with the motion transmitting end of the lever in contact with a suitable stop 39.

By employing two springs 23 and 29, it is possible to'use a wire or any other flexible link it. whereas if only one spring were employed, the

, link it would be required to transmit motion in both directions.

The drum Z2 is formed to receive a cylindrical core 35 around which a record sheet or strip 35 may be wound and secured by any suitable means.

.Where the length of the chart corresponds with the circumference of the core, it may be wound upon the core and secured thereto by rubber bands 37!. Otherwise the chart may be secured to the core at only one end and wound upon the core while the record is being made.

Each chart is preferably sub-divided by numbered longitudinally and transversely extending lines, as shown in Figures 8 and 9. The spaces between the longitudinally extending lines are numbered in correspondence with the number of sections in the knitting machine, and those between the transversely extending lines are numbered in correspondence with the blanks to be knitted within a day or other period of time represented by the chart. Therefore, as the drum 22 revolves step by step spaces representing each blank to be knitted will be exposed through a slot All in the top of the cabinet, where by, whenever a defect appears in the blank which is being knitted in any section of the machine, the operator can stop the machine and can indicate the nature of the defect in the proper square on the chart, thereby indicating the section in which the defect occurred.

When the machine is again set in operation,

"- this record is moved out of registry with the slot ill as soon as the blanks of that particular set have been completed. Each chart will carry an index of symbols to be used by the operator to indicate the particular character of defect for which the machine was stopped.

The cabinet is provided with a door 12 which may be locked by the superintendent or other officer, and opened only for the removal of the cores to permit removal and substitution of charts 36. After replacement of a chart, the core is replaced on the drum 22. The inner end of the drum will preferably be made conical as indicated at 53, whereby, when the core is pushed into place, it will be held to the drum and rotated therewith. However, the particular means for securing the core to the drum is not material to the invention herein claimed beyond the requirement that it be sufiicient to cause a step by step movement of the core and chart with the movements of the drum.

If desired, auxiliary course counters may be employed. In the machine illustrated, the shaft 58 makes one complete revolution for each course knitted, and motion may be transmitted from this shaft to counting mechanism contained within the cabinet 55, whereby each revolution of the shaft and each corresponding course knitted by the machine in each or" the several sections may be registered. In Figure e I have illustrated at 5% an ordinary counting mechanism, provided with a series of counting wheels driven by an as cillatory shaft to which motion is communicated from the shaft 58 through the eccentric (Figure l), iink crank shaft (Fig= are l), crank til, connecting rod 6!, and a crank 62 on shaft 55. As indicated in Figure l, the cabinet 5i normally encloses the counter 54 so that it is not subject to control by the operator of the machine. It furnishes a correct record of the number of revolutions of the shaft it under normal knitting conditions.

An auxiliary counter @i may be driven from the same connecting rod iii through a crank 63 and the driving shaft (it of the counter. This counter ill may be re-set to a starting point or zero point by means of the resetting rod ii! and exterior manually operable knob H.

As is usual in such counters, the operating crank (it will be swung by the driving mechanism in one direction and retracted by a spring '62 or equivalent means, whereas the re-setting rod it may be operated in the opposite direction to restore the counting wheels to the starting point without actuating the crank 68.

The operation of my improved tally mechanism will be understood from the foregoing descrip" tion, but may be briefly reviewed as follows.

A complete record of the number of blanks knitted and of defects appearing in each set of blanks will be produced on the charts 35, each of which will be used for a given period and then replaced by another chart. This record will be automatically produced, with the exception of the symbols which identify the character of the defect and the particular blank in which "it appears. The operator of the machine cannot change these symbols after completion of any given set of blanks for the reason that the record for that set of blanks moves out of reach by the operator immediately prior to the completion of those blanks.

The record produced by the blanks 35 may be checked against the record of courses knit ted, which is automatically maintained by the tally M, thereby enabling the superintendent, inspector, or other ofiicial to ascertain by com parison of the two records when the operation of the machine has been unduly delayed during any given period of time represented by one of the charts St.

The auxiliary tally ET is entirely under the control of the operator through the knob H. The purpose of this tally is to keep a record of the courses knitted during the production of one set of blanks, whereby whenever the machine is stopped by one of the cam projections i2 (Figure 2) the operator may inspect the tally and thereby ascertain the nature of the adjustment to be made at that stage of operation. By resetting this tally upon completion of each set of blanks the operator may be kept informed as to all required re--adjustments oi the needles by instant ascertainment of the knitting stage at which. the machine has been automatically stopped.

While I have described the counter in cabinet I8 as being actuated step by step once during the manufacture of each set of blanks, it is not material to my invention whether this counter is operated once or more than once, the number of operations being dependent upon the number of projections l l on the patternchain. For example, the projections H might operate this counter upon completion of each one hundred courses knitted by the machine.

I claim:

1. The combination with a fiat knitting machine having multiple sections for the simultaneous knitting of separate blanks, of means for recording defects appearing in any of said blanks, said recording means being adapted to indicate the sections of the machine in which the defect occurs, and means driven by said machine at predetermined intervals for advancing the recording means step by step beyond the control of the operator.

2. The combination with a flat knitting machine having multiple sections I'or the simultaneous production of knitted blanks, of a count er for registering the number of blanks knitted, and means associated with the counter for maintaining a record of defects appearing in the blanks and the sections of the machine in which the defective blanks are produced.

3. The combination with a flat knitting machine provided with a control chain having a machine stopping member, and a counter operatively connected with said chain for periodic operation, and provided with means for manually recording the character of defects requiring a stoppage of the machine.

4. The combination with a flat knitting machine provided with a machine driven control chain having a machine stopping member, and a counter operatively connected with said chain for periodic operation, said counter being provided with means for recording defects in each knitted blank produced by said machine.

5. The combination with a flat knitting machine, of a counter uncontrollable by the operator, an auxiliary counter provided with accessible resetting means, and a product counter adapted to register the number of blanks produced in a given period of time, each of said counters being operatively connected with motion transmitting portions of said machine.

CHARLES W. STRZALKOWSKI. 

